Re: Purchasing a bandolim or cavaquinho?
Originally Posted by
alb
Now a year after buying my Joao, I'm still playing it daily. It's a great instrument, and has held up pretty well, with some minor issues. (Cracking nut needs replacement, and I do too though, looking to add a pickup to it)
Hi Al,
It's your fault, actually. I resisted buying a bandolim for years, and wasn't convinced that I really wanted one. But then I played your Batista last April at the Port Townsend Choro Workshop. It was so playable and the sound was so nice, I determined to get one at the earliest possible.
It wasn't until August that anything turned up in the Cafe classifieds, but then John Eubanks put his Batista up for sale. I couldn't line up consent in time from my wife, and his Batista sold, but he also had a Barros he was selling, maple back and sides, already wired with a Fishman SBT series pickup in it. On the strength of players like Pedro Amorim and Rodrigo Lessa playing these instruments, and John's observation that it was the equal of his Batista, I bit.
Well, it's a beautiful instrument and I can't stop playing it. I get great comments on its sound from people who hear it, and it sounds as good amplified as anything I've heard so far.
My only problem with it is that the bridge cuts through E strings like a knife, so I'm going to have to get it to a luthier to clear that up. No biggie.
You might include the Fishmans on your list of pickups to evaluate, Al. And let us know which way you decide to go when the time comes.
Doug
Last edited by Doug Hoople; Sep-21-2010 at 11:44pm.
Doug Hoople
Adult-onset Instrumentalist (or was that addled-onset?)
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